


Aloe Vera

by uncomposed



Category: Naruto
Genre: Fluff, I'd die for them stg, M/M, One Shot, You have no idea how much I had to Google about Aloe Vera for this fic, anyway they cute, these virgin dorks, y'all better read it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-12
Updated: 2018-10-12
Packaged: 2019-07-29 21:26:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16272665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/uncomposed/pseuds/uncomposed
Summary: Gaara has a crush and is hopeless. Rock Lee is a loud person but is helpful.One shot.





	Aloe Vera

Rock Lee had been in the village of Suna for all about five minutes and it was already blatantly obvious that he had arrived. Even from Gaara's office, he could hear cheers and yells of "Youth". Perhaps another man would have been annoyed or amused. Gaara of the Sand was overwhelmingly nervous.

He felt as though he had a lump of coal in his throat. His stomach was in knots. He felt his face get hot, undoubtedly turning his pale face pink. He could hear his heartbeat in his ears. His palms began to sweat, causing the man to wipe his hands on the front of his shirt. He awkwardly tried to flatten his hair. He had no mirror around him (he never really needed one previously) so he could not see if he looked good. _Well, or at the very least, proper_ he thought to himself. 

Usually, Kankuro would be there to greet his visitors with him. For safety, mostly, but also because Gaara felt more comfortable with him there. Gaara had never been good at socializing. A traumatic childhood of isolation will do that to a person. However, since Rock Lee was such a close friend, Kankuro asked (well, really, demanded) that he not have to attend. Gaara couldn't think of a good reason to say no.

A lighthearted laugh reverberated through the halls and into the empty office where Gaara had sat. He knew that Lee had gotten to his secretary who would show him to the door. His anxiety piqued. Then, two sharp knocks were heard. Gaara cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Enter," he ordered. He picked up the scroll in front of him as he heard the click of the doorknob. He glanced up and noticed Rock Lee standing in front of him. Not much had changed since their fight during the Chunin exams. He still wore the same Spandex suit, with an orange scarf. His forehead protector was still tied to his waist. His hair was black and had a bowl haircut. But his smile. It was so wide and pure, it made Gaara's heart stop for just a moment. His scent wafted towards the Kazekage. Musk and citrus, a smell that was unique to Lee. 

"Lord Kazekage! I have missed you!" Rock Lee bowed. 

"Yes, Lee, it is good to see you as well," Gaara mumbled. "I assume you know your mission."

"Yeah! I am supposed to help pick the Aloe Vera plant!" He saluted. 

"I really appreciate your help. We have been low on workers since the war." It had been a real problem. After the massive losses in lives during the war, Suna had to redistribute their workforce, leaving less important things like the cultivation of certain plants to fall by the wayside. Aloe Vera was an important medicinal plant and brought in revenue, so Gaara was forced to hire a shinobi from a different village. Konoha was spared a lot of the damage of the war, so they had people available.

It sounded too good to be true, honestly. In a show of solidarity, Konoha offered a discount on one of their shinobi to help pick Aloe Vera. Gaara sighed to himself when he read who they would send. It wasn't that he did not like Rock Lee. Quite the opposite actually. Gaara was massively in love with the dorky, adorable man who stood in front of him.

Rock Lee nodded solemnly. "It is my pleasure to help," he grinned again. Gaara nodded sharply and Rock Lee left. Lee had become very familiar with Suna so Gaara was spared having to walk the village to show him around. His heart couldn't take this stress. He was sure this crush would kill him. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------  
Lee had been in the village for two days and Gaara did his damnedest to avoid him. It wasn't very hard if Gaara was being honest. He was the Kazekage and was very busy. He had to run a village and that by itself kept Gaara from interacting with people. He had even convinced himself that his crush was fake, another sign of his impending decline into insanity. It was only a matter of time before he began talking to walls. _Even if I did talk to walls, I would still be a better Kazekage than Rasa_ , he thought darkly. He sighed and shuffled the papers in front of him. 

A knock on his door made him look up. He furrowed his brow. He did not have any meetings until 4. "Enter," he answered hesitantly.

Kankuro's grinning face appeared in his doorway. "Temari was just bitching at me to make sure you eat," he explained with a shrug. 

Gaara rolled his eyes but he was secretly warmed by the familial action. "I am fine, Kankuro," he chided gently.

Kankuro waved dismissively. "Yeah, yeah. Have you eaten?" A pause gave him his answer. "Exactly. At least eat a piece of fruit." An orange was sailing in the air and Gaara caught it with one hand. "Or don't. You're a grown up. Do whatever you want." With that, he had left. 

The smell of citrus was overwhelming. Gaara's heart began to pound again. He glanced at the orange and then stood up quickly. He had to see him. He had to. It was midday, so he would be in the fields, cultivating the aloe vera. Gaara tried to walk slow but he wanted to run. 

The fields were once empty land. His father had chosen them for farming at the beginning of his reign. Since then, it was expanded to include twenty more species of profitable plants, twelve of which had been under Gaara's guidance. He glanced at the open fields. Rock Lee stuck out like a sore thumb in his bright green. He looked to be hard at work.

As Gaara neared closer, he could make out more details. Lee's hair was messy, sticking up off his head. He had taken off the upper part of his suit to combat the heat. His skin was getting dangerously pink under the sun's harsh rays. Gaara couldn't help but eye his bicep, glistening with sweat. A heat rose in his chest. 

Rock Lee glanced up and noticed Gaara. Gaara froze. He hoped he couldn't tell that he was ogling him. A smile spread on the Leaf Shinobi's face. "Kazekage!" he shouted. He dropped his knife, running towards the Kazekage. As he finally reached him, Gaara saw how red he had become. 

"Oh," Gaara said lamely. "Lee. I was just checking in with you to see how you're doing." 

"Great!" he exclaimed. 

"You should really treat that sunburn before it blisters," Gaara stated worriedly. 

"Oh," Lee scrunched his eyebrows. "I didn't bring anything to treat it, though."

Gaara swallowed and nodded. A terrible, brilliant idea popped in his head. "Well, we are standing in an Aloe Vera field. Come," he waved, beckoning Lee to follow. He led him to the warehouse. They held the cut product in the warehouse until it had a place to be shipped to. It was small and often empty of people. It had to be air-conditioned to keep the leaves from wilting early, the relief of the heat coaxing a sigh of delight from Rock Lee. Gaara grabbed a leaf off the top of one of the piles, splitting it in half. "Here, let me," he offered. 

Lee smiled brightly and nodded. Gaara gently rubbed the plant on his bare skin, starting with the back of his neck. Unwittingly, Lee responded with a low moan. 

The sound set Gaara's skin on fire. He bit his lip. He reminded himself that he is the Kazekage and he should absolutely not try to kiss the Shinobi because that would be completely inappropriate and who's to say that Lee would even want to kiss back, that's just nonsense and this crush is just a crush and...

His internal monologue went unnoticed by Lee, who was enjoying the cool, refreshing Aloe on his irritated skin. 

Gaara needed a distraction. He needed it this moment or he was going to explode. "Is this feeling better?"

Lee responded with another moan. "Much better. Thank you! I wasn't paying attention which I know I should stop doing because Gai-sensei says..."

Lee continued to talk for a long while. Gaara responded with the appropriate "ah" and "hmm" when required. He lost himself to the lull of his voice, continuing his work on his back. 

"Lord Kazekage?" Lee's voice echoed in the small warehouse.

"Hmm?" Gaara hummed.

"I, um, just wanted to say thank you for all of your help. I'll make you proud! I'll cut twice as many plants. No! Three times! No! Four!" He announced.

Gaara chuckled. "I believe you, Lee. You're finished here. Take a couple of leaves. Make sure to use it tonight." 

Lee stood up and smiled in response. He began to say something but Gaara was moving without telling his body to move. He blinked and he was a few steps away from Lee and then he opened his eyes again and he was directly in front of him. Lee looked at him with a confused expression. "Lord Kaze- hmmpf," was all the Leaf shinobi could say before Gaara's lips were pressed firmly to his own. Lee was a head taller than him so he had to stand on his tiptoes. 

Gaara was terrified. He knew he shouldn't have done this, he's ruined a perfectly good friendship and probably the relationship with the whole village, oh dear God, what was he going to tell his council about why Konoha wanted to start a war with him, Naruto was going to be so-

And then Lee began to kiss back. Soft at first, like kissing a flower petal. Then an arm wrapped around Gaara's waist, another hand wove its way through his hair. A growl rose from up Lee's chest, making Gaara's heart pound. Then, all he could feel were Lee's lips on his. At some point, Gaara had reached up to touch Lee's face but at which point, he could not recall. Gaara's face was a thousand degrees hot, but this kiss, dear God, his heart was exploding in his chest. Lee was kissing him! Kissing! Him! His lips! Lee was the first to break the kiss. For this, Gaara was grateful because he would have happily kissed him, standing in this spot, until he turned into dust. 

He cleared his throat and looked away. The image of Rock Lee, blushing with swollen lips burned into the back of his eyelids. Rock Lee smiled at him, his heart pounding just as hard. Gaara locked eyes with him again, his breath caught in his throat.

Suddenly, the door swung open. Temari stood in the doorway. “There you are!” she sighed in relief. “You’re going to be late for your 4 o’clock meeting.” She left, banging the door on her way out.

Gaara nodded and went to leave. Lee grasped his sleeve. He placed another soft kiss on the corner of his lips, making Gaara gasp. Lee smiled brightly and left, leaving Gaara alone in the warehouse for a just a moment. In that moment, perhaps for the first time in his life, Gaara swore he could die happy.


End file.
